Deuteronomy 26
International Children’s Bible
The First Harvest
26 Soon you will go into the land the Lord your God is giving you to own. You will take it over and live in it. 2 Then you must take some of the first harvest of crops. It will grow from the land the Lord your God is giving you. Put the food in a basket. Then go to the place where the Lord your God will choose to be worshiped. 3 Say to the priest on duty at that time, “Today I declare this before the Lord your God. I have come into the land the Lord promised to give us. He promised this to our ancestors.” 4 The priest will take your basket. He will set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. 5 Then you shall announce before the Lord your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean. He went down to Egypt. He stayed there with only a few people. But they became a great, powerful and large nation there. 6 But the Egyptians were cruel to us. They made us suffer and work very hard. 7 So we prayed to the Lord, the God of our ancestors. He heard us. He saw our trouble, hard work and suffering. 8 Then the Lord brought us out of Egypt. He did it with his great power and strength. He used great terrors, signs and miracles. 9 Then he brought us to this place. He gave us this land where much food grows. 10 Now I bring you part of the first harvest from this land. Lord, you have given me this land.” Then place the basket before the Lord your God. And bow down before him. 11 Then you and the Levites and foreigners among you should rejoice. The Lord your God has given good things to you and your family.
12 Bring a tenth of all your harvest the third year. This is the year to give a tenth of your harvest. Give it to the Levites, foreigners, orphans and widows. Then they may eat in your towns and be full. 13 Then say to the Lord your God, “I have taken out of my house the part of my harvest that belongs to God. I have given it to the Levites, foreigners, orphans and widows. I have done everything you commanded me. I have not broken your commands. And I have not forgotten any of them. 14 I have not eaten any of the holy part while I was in sorrow. I have not removed any of it while I was unclean. I have not offered it for dead people. I have obeyed you, the Lord my God. I have done everything you commanded me. 15 So look down from heaven, your holy home. Bless your people Israel. And bless the land you have given us. You promised it to our ancestors. It is a land where much food grows.”
Obey the Lord’s Commands
16 Today the Lord your God commands you to obey all these rules and laws. Be careful to do them with your whole being. 17 Today you have said that the Lord is your God. You have promised to do what he wants you to do. You have promised to keep his rules, commands and laws. You have said you will obey him. 18 And today the Lord has said that you are his very own people. He has promised it. But you must obey his commands. 19 The Lord will make you greater than all the other nations he made. He will give you praise, fame and honor. And you will be a holy people to the Lord your God. This is what he said.
Deuteronomy 26
World English Bible
26 It shall be, when you have come in to the land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance, possess it, and dwell in it, 2 that you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you shall bring in from your land that Yahweh your God gives you. You shall put it in a basket, and shall go to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there. 3 You shall come to the priest who shall be in those days, and tell him, “I profess today to Yahweh your God, that I have come to the land which Yahweh swore to our fathers to give us.” 4 The priest shall take the basket out of your hand, and set it down before Yahweh your God’s altar. 5 You shall answer and say before Yahweh your God, “My father[a] was a Syrian ready to perish. He went down into Egypt, and lived there, few in number. There he became a great, mighty, and populous nation. 6 The Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us. 7 Then we cried to Yahweh, the God of our fathers. Yahweh heard our voice, and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs, and with wonders; 9 and he has brought us into this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 Now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, Yahweh, have given me.” You shall set it down before Yahweh your God, and worship before Yahweh your God. 11 You shall rejoice in all the good which Yahweh your God has given to you, and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the foreigner who is among you.
12 When you have finished tithing all the tithe of your increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the foreigner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, that they may eat within your gates and be filled. 13 You shall say before Yahweh your God, “I have put away the holy things out of my house, and also have given them to the Levite, to the foreigner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all your commandment which you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, neither have I forgotten them. 14 I have not eaten of it in my mourning, neither have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor given of it for the dead. I have listened to Yahweh my God’s voice. I have done according to all that you have commanded me. 15 Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel, and the ground which you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.”
16 Today Yahweh your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances. You shall therefore keep and do them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 You have declared today that Yahweh is your God, and that you would walk in his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, and his ordinances, and listen to his voice. 18 Yahweh has declared today that you are a people for his own possession, as he has promised you, and that you should keep all his commandments. 19 He will make you high above all nations that he has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to Yahweh your God, as he has spoken.
Footnotes
- 26:5 or, forefather
Deuteronomy 26
New King James Version
Offerings of Firstfruits and Tithes
26 “And it shall be, when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, 2 (A)that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and (B)go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. 3 And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord [a]your God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’
4 “Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. 5 And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: ‘My father was (C)a [b]Syrian, (D)about to perish, and (E)he went down to Egypt and [c]dwelt there, (F)few in number; and there he became a nation, (G)great, mighty, and populous. 6 But the (H)Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. 7 (I)Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. 8 So (J)the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, (K)with great terror and with signs and wonders. 9 He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, (L)“a land flowing with milk and honey”; 10 and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me.’
“Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God. 11 So (M)you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.
12 “When you have finished laying aside all the (N)tithe of your increase in the third year—(O)the year of tithing—and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled, 13 then you shall say before the Lord your God: ‘I have removed the [d]holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, (P)nor have I forgotten them. 14 (Q)I have not eaten any of it [e]when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it [f]for an unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that You have commanded me. 15 (R)Look down from Your holy [g]habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us, just as You swore to our fathers, (S)“a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’
A Special People of God
16 “This day the Lord your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 Today you have (T)proclaimed the Lord to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you will (U)obey His voice. 18 Also today (V)the Lord has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments, 19 and that He will set you (W)high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be (X)a [h]holy people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 26:3 LXX my
- Deuteronomy 26:5 Or Aramean
- Deuteronomy 26:5 As a resident alien
- Deuteronomy 26:13 hallowed things
- Deuteronomy 26:14 Lit. in my mourning
- Deuteronomy 26:14 Or while I was unclean
- Deuteronomy 26:15 home
- Deuteronomy 26:19 consecrated
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.